


What Are Friends For?

by fabulously_frenzied



Series: ML Oneshots [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Oneshot, Post-Hawkmoth's defeat, post-identity reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 12:31:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19376758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabulously_frenzied/pseuds/fabulously_frenzied
Summary: While Ladybug and Chat Noir are away in Tibet to investigate the accident that led to Emilie Agreste's comatose condition,someonehas to take care of the baby.





	What Are Friends For?

**Author's Note:**

> hahahahahaha this was only supposed to be a few hundred words

"Hey, hey, hey, hey," Alya shushes the whimpering child in her arms. "I know, I know. I wish your mommy were here, too, but she and Daddy are off on a trip, remember?" 

Of course, her words bear little meaning to baby Emma, but the soothing tones of her voice seem to have pacified the infant, at least for the moment. The girl's blue-green eyes gaze into Alya's shallow hazel ones, and she can't help but fall in love with her all over again. Naturally, the two most gorgeous people she's ever met produced an even more beautiful child. Tufts of hair have begun to sprout on the baby's head, and Alya can't help but wonder what color her hair will end up being - you can never quite tell this early on when the melanin still has yet to work its magic, but her money's on a darker shade. Though she can't imagine that Emma would be any less beautiful with another color.

Emma begins to babble, and Alya checks her watch. 13:15. She should probably try to feed her again. The child is still learning to be comfortable with "Tata Alya," and getting the girl to eat has proven to be something of a struggle. Alya supposes she can't blame her; it really was unfortunate that the timing of Marinette and Adrien's trip to Tibet meant leaving their first child behind in someone else's hands. Trusted hands, and overqualified ones (if her lifetime of babysitting her twin younger sisters has anything to say for it), but not the girl's parents'. She's seen firsthand the importance of nature vs. nurture in a child's development, and how vital it is that the nature and nurture are _good_. Even later in life, if your environment changes drastically, too suddenly, or heaven forbid both, it can cause a massive disturbance in a kid. Adrien is proof, and Alya knows perfectly well just how much he and Marinette want to avoid the same sort of thing happening to their little girl.

She reflects on that for a moment as she sets a pot of water on the stove to boil. In past conversations, Adrien has had a tendency to clam up a bit whenever he's asked about being a parent. Of course, she thinks, he doesn't want to become his father, despite how much she and Marinette don't believe he ever possibly could. Marinette has even mentioned to her before, behind closed doors, how scared her husband is of failing as a father, of forcing his own terrible childhood onto his daughter because all the years he spent alone, constantly under someone else's control, have wiped away the few happy memories he had clung to so desperately from when his family was whole. But Alya knows Adrien is far too compassionate and selfless to become the cold, stubborn, narrow-minded man his father had been for years. It brought about his downfall a little over a year ago, and the news that world-famous fashion mogul Gabriel Agreste was actually the notorious supervillain mastermind Hawkmoth, Paris's own magical terrorist, was simultaneously shocking and not at all a surprise. Alya can't imagine what that would do to a kid, even though the members of the Miraculous Team were all well and truly on their way to adulthood when a break in the case finally appeared. Adrien took the news hardest of all, understandably, and his reluctance to fight his own father had been evident in that final battle.

Alya sets Emma down in the high chair at the kitchen table so she can place the formula bottle in the now boiling water. No, she's absolutely confident Adrien will be the best dad this girl could have. And his teamwork with Marinette after years of fighting side by side will make them the ultimate parenting team. Years ago, after the events of the Heroes' Day disaster and the introduction of a new villain on Hawkmoth's side, Ladybug made the executive decision to reveal their true identities to one another. They were all floored: the hero who once had been so adamant about secrecy suggested the very opposite to them. Knowing each other's alter egos is what got Rena Rouge and Carapace akumatized during that fight, after all. Ladybug insisted though. She said that in order to be a strong enough team to take down Hawkmoth and whoever his new ally was, they needed to trust one another completely, and that started with knowing each other. Strangely, Alya hadn't been all that surprised to learn her BFF, her wonderful, strong, caring, clever, creative best friend forever, was also Paris's beloved hero. When she thought about it, everything else lined up - all her tardiness in school, constant exhaustion, and excuses to run and hide during attacks, how Marinette had never, ever been akumatized, how she'd never seen the two in the same place - oh, and not to mention Chloé's reaction had been _priceless, utterly priceless_. What had been more surprising was Adrien being Chat Noir. For whatever reason, she would never have guessed they're one and the same, despite all her attempts during her collège years to put names to the faces (she recalls she might have, at one point, tried to convince Marinette there was a strong chance her crush was the Cat on the Bug-and-Cat team, based solely on the way Adrien looked under a certain Snapchat filter). She has to admit, though, after the huge reveal, the bond of their team grew exponentially. They covered for each other in school, trained together, communicated effectively and often, and became near unstoppable by the time they confronted Hawkmoth once and for all. Even Chloé lightened up, once she knew her nemesis was also her idol, and started to act a little less selfishly. If Alya hadn't been in on the reason for the sudden change in her demeanor, she definitely wouldn't have believed the former brat's actions were genuine.

She removes the bottle from the pot and moves the pot off of the stove, turning off the heat. Lifting Emma out of the high chair, she cradles the child in her arms and starts to nurse her with the bottle. The little girl closes her eyes as she feeds, and Alya's heart keeps melting. She's seen the connection this girl's parents have, fought by their side as the famous duo worked their literal magic. She's seen how much they care about each other, willing to sacrifice everything for the other's benefit, and knows this girl was made from the purest, deepest love. She's seen how much it tore them apart to have to leave their cherished little one behind. They hadn't wanted to, but they know something happened in Tibet that put Adrien's mother into her coma, something cursed the Peacock Miraculous, and something evil other than Hawkmoth is at work out there. After all, Gabriel only became Hawkmoth in the first place because of what happened to his wife, but, unfortunately to him, finding a solution meant all but neglecting his only son. Alya takes solace in the fact that Adrien and Marinette decided not to embark on this journey until after Emma was born, thank goodness, well and truly after Hawkmoth's defeat. In the interim, the rest of the Miraculous Team took up the responsibility of protecting Paris from what felt like such trivial crimes after the havoc Hawkmoth had wreaked on the city. They couldn't have a pregnant Ladybug running on the rooftops and swinging through the sky, now could they? Even after Emma was born, they decided to wait a little longer, not wanting to leave a mere infant behind for a journey that would take who knows how long. They couldn't wait forever, though: something was out there, and they knew they had to stop it.

The bottle drained, Alya walks back into the kitchen and sets it down next to the sink, still cradling Emma in the crook of her arm. The girl is sleeping now - cue Alya falling in love for the 12,876th time today - and she takes her into the guest room where she and Nino put the girl's crib. Laying her down gently, Alya smiles as she whispers good night to the child, despite it still being early afternoon. She loves taking care of Emma. Initially, she, Nino, and Chloé offered to journey to Tibet with Marinette and Adrien when they explained the plan to them. That was when the three of them found out Marinette was pregnant, and they weren't about to take a newborn into the home territory of an unknown evil. Marinette asked Alya specifically if she would take care of the child when they were born, to which Alya immediately and wholeheartedly agreed. She'd do anything for her friend, and she figured it would be good practice for if she and Nino ever decide to have a couple little kiddos of their own one day. It wasn't until later she found out she loves this girl to death, and she's glad things worked out the way they did. 

She takes her phone out of her pocket. No new messages, just like this entire week so far. It's been about a month now since Adrien and Marinette left for Tibet, but communications started to fizzle only a couple weeks in. At first, Alya chalked it up to poor connection and time zones, but it's been too long now for that to be the answer. She hopes they're okay, but she knows them and she knows whatever evil is out there, it's got another thing coming. As long as those two are together, they could probably take on the world. 

Well, she supposes, they can go ahead and do that. Alya's perfectly happy getting to take care of their daughter while they save the day for the umpteenth time.

After all, what are friends for?

**Author's Note:**

> Hey frenz! Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> I had the idea for this little oneshot not too long ago, but just now got the itch to write it. Initially, it was just going to be Alya babysitting Marinette and Adrien’s child, just because I felt like that would be adorable. Whatever plot evident in this fic now was inspired by a fic my friend sent me called _The Cat and the Mask_ by BeautifulMessenger, and you can read it [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16888317/chapters/39666393#workskin)—I highly recommend it, it’s an awesome read. It’s unfinished here on ao3 but you can find the rest of it on fanfiction.net
> 
> All are welcome to hit me up on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/fabulously-frenzied)!


End file.
